Summer Dreamin'
by WritelkeUmeanit
Summary: Rory's gone, the house is quiet, and Lorelai's having dreams. Lorelai's having dreams about LUKE. Lorelai's having WEIRD, sometimes DIRTY dreams about LUKE. About her FRIEND LUKE. It's quite the mess her subconscious has created. Drama/Friendship/Romance
1. The Baddest of the Bads

**Author's Note-**

_Here's a little story that's been ratteling around my brain for a few days. It was actually inspired by an avatar I made the other day; weird huh? _

_Anyway, this baby should be about 5-10 chapters. Somewhere in that general vicinity. I have the whole thing pretty much planned out so updates should follow one after the other rather quickly. And of course, updates for my ongoing stories will continue. I just got the idea for this and as I'm sure most of you know, ideas don't go away until they're played out on paper. So I'm gonna play this one out. _

_Enjoy! And some reviews would be lovely, :D_

**Summer Dreamin'**

**Chapeter One: The Baddest of the Bads**

"_This is your fault!" she yelled after him. _

_He spun around to glare at her. "He's my nephew! What was I supposed to do!?_

"_Well here's an idea; how 'bout locking him away behind bars where he can't kill!"_

"_Her wrist is broken, Lorelai; she's fine."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry, but when did a broken wrist equal fine? Because to me, if the word broken is being thrown around, that indicates that something isn't fine. The total opposite of fine! She could have been killed!"_

"_You don't think I know that?! You don't think I care?!"_

"_You sure as hell aren't acting like you care!"_

"_I have to find Jess," he said while turning around. _

"_You walk away from me and that's it!"_

_He stopped. "What do you mean 'that's it?'"_

"_We'll be done. I'll never speak to you again," she said while fuming with anger, but keeping her voice low, trying to calm down. _

_Luke looked at her, confused before saying, "you think I'd chose you over Jess? Over my nephew? If you're really asking me to do that, then I'll end it. I don't want to see you in the diner anymore," he said before turning back around. _

And so it began.

When Lorelai woke up in the morning, she yanked the phone from the craddle and dialed her daughter.

"Hello?" Rory answered.

"I can't do this."

"Mom?"

"I change my mind."

"What are you talking about?"

"One day you're gone and already I'm going crazy. You need to come home. Forget Washington; I need you here," she begged.

"Okay," Rory said while sitting down on her bed, "what happened?"

Lorelai sighed. "I had a dream."

"And I assume it wasn't a happy one?"

"You assume right. It was bad, Rory, really bad," she said while plucking at her blanket. "The baddest of the bads."

"Okay, you talk; I'll write," Rory ordered while pulling out a notebook. It was a little thing they did. When either one of them has a weird dream, one would take notes while the other talks and thus an analysis is born.

"Okay, well, it was the night Jess broke your wrist."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Jess did not break my wrist."

"I'm sorry; the night Jess fractured your wrist. Better?"

"Mom," Rory warned.

"Okay, it was the night you got into a car accident. May I continue?"

"Please do."

"Okay so, Luke and I were screaming in the middle of the street and it wasn't so weird at first because that's what really happened anyway. But then he said something that completely threw me off."

"What'd he say?" Rory asked while writing.

"Well, he was leaving to go find Jess, but unlike what really happened, in the dream I stopped him. I told him if he walks away from me, we're over. Then he said, if you're asking me to choose you over my nephew, I'll end it. He said, don't come back to the diner and just walked away. And then I woke up."

Rory stopped writing, not needing notes. She knew the answer to this one. "Okay, well I think I know the problem."

"What?" Lorelai asked, hopeful.

"Well, what happened that night, you may not have directly asked him to choose you over Jess, but I think you implied it. You wanted us to come first and you're feeling guilty about it."

Silence followed as Lorelai digested that.

"He shouldn't have to pick, mom," Rory added. "Jess is his nephew and of course, if he had to, he should pick him over us. We can't expect him not to."

Lorelai switched the phone to her other ear while lying back on her bed. "Yeah, but he... he's always been there for me, for us. I just.. it wasn't fair. I mean he chose someone else over us; he picked Jess, the guy who was driving the car when you got hurt... it's not right. I've been here. I know him. And family or not, Jess doesn't. Jess doesn't even respect him. Jess didn't want to be here."

"I know, mom, but he sent him away. He sent him away because I got hurt. He did it for us, mom."

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed, "he did."

Later on, while Lorelai was at the Inn, she took her break in her office. She sat down at her desk, pulled out white, lined paper and a black pen; it being the only writing impliment sitting in her 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' mug, and then began writing a letter. A long, overdue letter.

**Dear, Luke, **

**Before you crumple this up and throw it away like I'm sure you did after reading my last letter, please listen to what I have to say first. Or in this case, read what I have to say. I promise, I think this will help. **

**I know we're in the middle of a thing right now, a big thing. Terrible things were said that night and I understood why you were mad at me. I understood you hating me. But then time went by and I apologized over and over again. I tried to get things back to normal. And so at that point, I just couldn't understand why you were still mad. Why you were looking at me like I was the devil and you wanted me banished to hell. I just couldn't understand it, but I think I do now. **

**I had a dream last night and I'll spare you the details, but I realized something. I know I said sorry a million times, sorry for yelling at you, sorry for going crazy, but what I didn't do was apologize for wanting you to choose. Jess is your nephew and no matter my feelings towards him, he's your family. And your right, you did have a responsbility for him. You had an obligation for him that went above anything and anyone else here and that's the way it should be. You were just trying to do the right thing and I was giving you hell for it. But I was scared, Luke. From the moment I saw him getting close to Rory, I was scared out of my mind. And let this be a lesson to you: Mothers who fear for their children will stop at nothing to keep them safe. And in that moment, they don't care who they hurt in the process. I was just trying to keep my kid safe. But I know you wanted the same thing for Jess. And I got in the way of that. Because of me, because of what happened, you sent him back to his mom. **

**When I heard you put him on that bus, I felt horrible, Luke. And I won't lie to you; I was happy too. He was gone. Rory would be okay. But you were hurting. I know you were. And for doing that to you, Luke, for hurting you like that, for putting you in that position, I am truly sorry. I never want to cause you that pain again. And I really hope we can get passed this because I miss you. I really, really miss you. **

**And you know, it would be nice to get a decent cup of coffee again. Seriously, you're hoarding all the good coffee and it's just not fair. **

**Anyway, my point is, I'm sorry, for everything. **

**Lorelai**

After Lorelai signed her name, she tucked the letter away in an envelope, then sealed it up. She wrote Luke's name on the cover in neat script before hiding the envelope away in her purse for safe keeping.

When her work day was done, Lorelai headed for home. She worked double duty at the Inn, so it was after nine when she parked in front of the empty, dark diner. But she was happy to see the place closed. She just couldn't picture herself walking in there, in front of a crowd, handing Luke the letter, then walking away. She preferred this. And so she slid from her car, hopped up the two cement steps, then slipped the envelope underneath the door. When she stood back, she couldn't help but peak up at his window. The lights were off. He was probably asleep. He wouldn't get the letter till morning. And what time he would finally read it, his reaction to the words was all Lorleai could think about during her restless sleep.

_To be Continued..._

**Hehe, intrigue. Hope you liked. Please Review, :D. **


	2. A Game of Cat and Mouse

**Author's Note- **

_A big, giant thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!!! I really appreciate the wonderful comments!!!! Keep 'em comin!_

_Here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy, :D. _

**Summer Dreamin'**

**Chapter Two: A Game of Cat and Mouse**

July 2nd, 2002 at a quarter to five, it was just like every other morning that passed. Luke awoke to the sound of his alarm clock blaring. It was a noise that didn't let up until something slammed on the snooze button. Many years ago, when Luke first started his regime of rising at the buttcrack of dawn, that poor button recived a lot of abuse. Over and over again it got hit as Luke wanted ten more minutes, just ten more minutes, ten more minutes....

But now the pattern of waking before the sun had being going on for many moons and on this particular morning, like the others before it, Luke jumped up with the alarm at exactly 4:45 a.m. He shuffled to the kitchen, took a drink of water, glanced out the window, then headed for the bathroom. He took a five minute shower and was out by 4:52. After checking his reflection to see if he needed a shave and deciding he was good for another day or so, he threw on his usual attire. Today it was a blue flannel with a white undershirt beneath. He put his levi's on, tied his boots around his feet, then slipped on his blue cap. 4:55. After getting dressed, he pulled open the fridge, grabbed an already made up mega man protein shake, an apple, and then headed downstairs while chewing on a bite of that red apple. It was 4:57 when Luke rounded the counter and set his breakfast down on its clean, wooden surface. And then Luke went about his usual routine, starting with getting the kitchen ready, then moving through the rest of the room, but stopping every now and then for a swig of mega man protein powder mixed with mlik and a bite of a good, healthy apple.

After nearly an hour had come and gone with the time being 5:53, Luke came from the store room with a broom and pan to sweep the floors. Everything else was ready to go. Sp he cleaned his way through the room and when after rounding the counter and making it to the door, he flipped the other light on. At 5:59, Luke picked up the envelope. At 6:02, Kirk was knocking at the door as Luke was reading the last sentence.

"Luke!" the lonely man shouted impatiently after not being let in right away like normal.

But Luke didn't hear him; maybe he couldn't. Either way, after reading the letter a second time, he suddenly spun around, dashed behind the counter, fixed up a cup of coffee, grabbed a doughnut, swipped his keys from the kitchen, then bolted outta there at 6:06, leaving an open door and a very confused Kirk behind.

"You left the door open!" Kirk calledl But Luke didn't seem to care as he aws in his truck, pulling away from the curb. When the car disapeared from sight, Kirk turned back to the empty diner. He waondered inside and went to his usual table where he took his usual chair and plopping his butt down in the center of it. After a minute passed and no juice appeared in front of him while he waited for his breakfast, he stod up and walked behind the counter. He soon found a hair net and snapped it over his head. He then found an apron and tied it around his waist. Then he went to the kitchen where he found the stove and a spatula...

_Crapshack_

Lorelai was very aware of the time. Too aware, with it being so early. It was passed 6:00- the time 6:04 to be exact. The diner opened at six. He had to have found the letter by now. Did he even read it? Did he tear it to shreds the moment he saw it was her handwriting that wrote his name? Did he know her handwriting? Would he get even more pissed that she wouldn't leave him alone? Would he forgive her? All of those questions and more were zooming through Lorelai's mind as she lie awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling, fussing with her blanket.

A couple of minutes ticked by and just as Lorelai was about to turn over and bury her face in her pillow, a loud, determined knock nearly sent her heart flying from her chest.

"Who the hell is knocking at six in the morning," she grumbled to herself while crawling out of hed and walking to the window. She wrapped her arms around her belly while slowly peaking up through the glass and a huge breath of relief escaped her when she found Luke's truck sitting behind her jeep. But then she did a double take and thought, maybe this was it. Maye he was really gonna tell her off. Maybe he'd yell and scream and threaten a restraining order if he even sees her within a 100 feet of the diner... it was early, she was tired and so of course came paranoia. But then another knock came, this one louder. Lorelai knew she couldn't avoid him and she really didn't want to. She wanted to see him. She wanted to fix this whole thing, that's why she wrote the letter. And so with her imagination running amok, still, she left her room and headed downstairs while praying to God that he wasn't standing there holding a really dull knife in his hand.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door Luke was about to knock for a third time when he realized the time. It was 6:09 in the morning, on a Saturday morning. Even if it was a weekday, he knew Lorelai would still be sleeping. The sun wasn't even up yet; this way too early for Lorelai Gilmore to be bright eyed and bushy tailed. She was probably still in bed. And so he didn't knock again. Instead, he put the bag and coffee down on her porch, pulled out the order pad that he left in his pocket, scribbled down a note, tucked it underneath the bag, then quickly hurried down the stairs and got back into his truck. She would find the note and they would fix this. He didn't want to fight with her anymore. He wanted Lorelai back.

Lorelai stopped to flick on the lamp in her living room. Once the room was lite with a soft glow, she turned to the mirror and messed with her hair a bit. After fixing her dark locks, she smiled, wanting to make sure there was nothing in her teeth or anything. But her smile turned to a frown when she realized her teeth weren't brushed for the morning yet.

"Damn morning breath," she cursed.

And then she took a step back and frowned at what she was wearing. It was a hot night so all she had on were boy shorts and a tank. She thought about running back upstairs to at least put pants on and while she was there, brush her teeth, but then a light passed through her window. So she turned around, hurried to the window, pushed back the curtain and found Luke's truck driving away.

"Ding-dong ditch? Really, Luke? And here I thought we could be adults about this," she said through a sigh before turning around and dragging her feet back upstairs.

Luke made it two blocks from her house and just two from the diner before he stopped his truck near the curb. He put the car in park and leaned back agianst his seat while letting out a long sigh. If she followed the note, he would see her soon enough and everything would be okay again. Things would go back to normal. She would be in his diner everyday again, talking a mile a minute, bugging the hell outta him and he would tell her to shut up and switch to decaf. It was their thing and he hated-though he wouldn't admit to it- he hated being without it all this time. It was apart of his routine that's been missing for too long. But now everything would be okay again. And with that firm thought, Luke put his truck back in drive, hurried down the remaining two blocks and arrived back to his diner to find a frantic kirk trying to put out a small kitchen fire. It was business as usual.

It was 6:12 when Lorelai looked at the clock as her body slid underneath the covers. The alarm would go off at seven for her to start her day. She still had time to turn over and try and sleep and so that's what she did. She was turning her brain off because that was it. She wasn't going to try anymore. He made a pretty big statement just now, a childish one in her eyes, but it was one that shouted loud and clear that it was over. But just maybe, she rationalized, he came wanting to say something, to tell her in person he wanted her out of his life for good, but chickened out- that thought occurred to her but all Lorelai really knew was that she screwed up too big for any fixing to be done. She created a wound that couldn't be healed. And that was that. No more trying to force her way back in. She couldn't make him forgive her. It was done.

_He left a message on her machine asking her to meet him at the square. And when Lorelai got that message she hurried from her house and ran the few blocks to meet him. When she got there, she found him sitting in the gazebo. _

"_Hey."_

_He looked up from the ground with a frown and fallen eyes "Hey," he said, his voice dull. _

_Lorelai's brows quirked. "What's wrong?"_

"_Sit," he said while patting the space next to him. _

"_Tell me what's wrong," she demanded. _

"_I think you should sit down first."_

"_I can't sit down when you look like you're about to tell me somebody died."_

_Luke shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that."_

_She held his gaze for a moment, searching his eyes. _

"_Lorelai, please."_

_She sighed before relenting and taking a seat next to him. "Okay, what is it?"_

_He turned to look at her. "I want a divorce."_

_Her eyes widened. "You-you-I-why?!"_

"_I met someone else," he said simply with a small shrug. _

_Even more shock covered her face. "You met someone else?!" she nearly shouted while getting to her feet. _

"_Yup," he agreed while hopping up to his feet too. "And she's a hell of a lot better in bed than you are."_

Lorelai woke up to her hello kitty alarm clock buzzing at 7:00 a.m that same morning. But unlike most other days, she was glad for the wake up call. The dream she just woke up from was not one she cared to continue or have again. It was bad, weird, and down right insulting.

"_And she's a hell of a lot better in bed than you are." _Those words rang through Lorelai's mind as she reached for the phone and dialed her daughter. Her offspring picked up the phone quickly and the moment Lorelai heard a 'hello' on the other end, she went right into it. She told Rory about the dream and everything that happened in reality. She told her about the letter about the ding-dong ditch incident and then waited impatiently for an analysis.

"I think you need to call Freud for this one."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "There was no sex, it was just... mentioned," she said, struggling for a moment to come up with the right word.

Rory shook her head. "Freud was a dream guy too."

"Well, Freud isn't here right now, so I'm gonna have to settle for you. Now analysis please."

"I think you just feel like you're losing Luke."

"No, not losing, LOST. I lost him. He's gone. We're over."

Rory sighed. "You're being a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"No, I am not being dramatic. This has been going on for months, Rory, you know that. He hates me right now but I really thought that letter would fix things. I mean I apologized, I really apologized. How many times can I sorry for it to be enough? I just don't get it. I mean I know what happened was bad but hasn't he ever heard of forgive and forget? This whole thing is ridculous."

"I agree," Rory said with a nod. "And you called it a thinglet," she said with a sad shake of her head.

"Well, at the time it was a thinglet. But then it escalated into a thing, a really, really big thing. So big that I lost one of my best friends."

"Mom, you didn't lose him, he just hasn't gotten over it yet. And you don't know, maybe he came over last night to make amends, but didnt know what to say so he left. I mean Luke isn't the type of guy to just ring your doorbell and leave to rub your face in it. He doesn't want to hurt you. This is Luke."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

"Now you need to be a big girl and get ready for work. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Lorelai said, her voice small as her eyes were down on her blanket.

"Good. And you are eating, right? You're gonna need to go shopping again soon," Rory reminded her.

"Yeah. I'm gonna have poptarts for breakfast, then eat lunch at the Inn. And food shopping tomorrow."

"And dinner?"

"Chinese."

Rory nodded. "Have Sookie make you some vegtables too. You need them," she ordered.

Lorelai frowned. "But the vegtables suck. We avoid vegtables, remember?"

"Yes, we avoid eating a lot of them, but sometimes we need a little. Promise me you'll have some."

Lorelai sighed. "I promise."

Rory smiled. "I'll call you later, mom."

"Bye, kid."

_The Diner_

It was almost nine and still, no sign of her. Before everything had happened, she would always come in before work, either with Rory or after her daughter would leave for school. If Rory woke up late and they didn't have time to come in together, she would come in around eight before heading to the Inn. Seven or eight, those were the two times he would see her for her usual breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, coffee, the works. She had an iron stomach. A bottomless pit. How she wasn't 500 pounds by now baffeled Luke. She was a medical mystery. But Luke didn't care about that. What he cared about was that it was five to nine and no Lorelai.

_Crapshack_

She was running late. Really, really late. Her phone call with Rory went longer than planned which led to her stepping into the shower just after eight, which should have been the time she was leaving the house. But after dealing with the water switching from hot to cold every two seconds, then fighting with her curly, frizzy hair, Lorelai found herself rushing for the door at nearly nine. Michel would throw a fit. He would rub her face in her tardiness all day.

It was ten to nine when Lorelai was rushing through the kitchen, grabbing a package of poptarts and her already made cup of coffee thanks to the nifty timer, before heading for the door. It was all systems a go, full speed ahead. But then what she found sitting on her porch brought everything to a screeching halt.

Lorelai looked down at the white bag and without even seeing the logo, she knew exactly where it was from. WHO it was from. And when she picked up the bag, she found a page pulled from his order pad.

**Lorelai- **

**Got your letter. Here's my peace offering. I'm sorry too. Hope I see you today. **

There it was. Sixteen words worth more than a million. He wasn't playing ding-dong ditch, he was leaving presents.

With a smile Lorelai peaked into the bag and her lips widened even further at finding a chocolate covered doughnut with rainbow sprinkles. That was her favorite. He knew, without needing her to ask for it, what her favorite was. For years now its been that way.

And with the biggest smile lighting her face, she whispered, "I got Luke back."

_To be continued..._

**You know the drill. I love Reviews. - hint, hint- :D. **


	3. Oh, That FWord

_Sorry, sorry, sorry for the long delay!!! But finally I managed to finish chapter three and I know it's length isn't something to brag about, but something is better than nothing, right? Hopefully we're all in agreement on that.* fingers crossed*_

_Anyway, as always, thank you for the reviews on the pervious chapter. Very much appreciated, :D. _

_And here we go, chapter three. Oh, and kinda **M-ish scene **in this onebut it's brief and not too bad. _

_Enjoy!!!_

**Summer Dreamin' **

**Chapter Three: Oh, That F-Word**

_Crapshack_

"Mom, it's two in the morning," Rory groaned after picking up her ringing cell phone. "You're lucky Paris isn't a light sleeper," she said while casting a fleeting glance at Paris to thankfully find that her roommate was still sleeping.

"I know, but I had a dream!"

"You used to wait till morning to tell me about them. Was the two a.m wake up call really necessary?"

"That's becuase I would have to go aaalllll the way downstairs to get you. Now I can just pick up the phone and call you," she said simply while sitting up further in bed.

"I got you that little notebook for a reason. Now write the dream down, and I'll call you in the morning," she said while reaching to hang up the phone, but Lorelai's shouting voice stopped her. "Mom, I have to be up in four hours," she complained.

"And I have to be up in five."

"So I win. Sleep. Bye."

"Fine! I'll tell you in the morning, but I'm not happy about it!" Lorelai yelled just before her daughter hung up on her. "Mean," she pouted while looking at the phone with sad eyes. But in that same second, Lorelai knew if she didn't start writing soon, precious details would get lost in the choas of her brain. So she reached to the night stand, pulled open the first drawer and took out her fuzzy purple notebook. After she opened to a blank page, she went back to the drawer for the matching pen and quickly began writing down the gist.

**Went out to the porch on my way to work, found a Luke's bag, picked it up, looked inside and saw a bunch of icky, squirming worms crawling all over a poor, defenseless doughnut. Dropped the bag on the floor, then picked up the coffee cup. Took a sip and it was tea! Gross tea! Dropped that too and found a note that said, "Fuck you, Lorelai. I hate you."**

After she was finished writing, Lorelai let out a small sigh while staring at the words. Luke's never cursed her out before, not like that and not even on paper. The worst was the "you go to hell, no, you go to hell," fight. She couldn't imagine him saying anything worse. Yes, he had a temper, but it wasn't a violent, crazy temper. He just had strong opinions and liked to wear his grumpiness on his sleeve, right under the flannel. Lorelai knew he was harmless. And underneath everything he was a really caring, sensitive guy. He was a good man. And so even hearing him say something like that in her dreams was beyond crazy. Dream Luke's never been that mean to her, let alone real Luke.

"It was just a dream," Lorelai murmured, repeating the words a few times before deciding that she needed more convincing. So she swung her legs from the bed and wondered over to her jewelery box. Underneath a bracelet and pressed to the bottom of the box was a folded up piece of paper. She needed to make sure.

**Lorelai-**

**Got your letter. Here's my peace offering. I'm sorry too. Hope I see you today.**

Reading his note brought an automatic smile to her face. They were okay. Things were good again. He didn't hate her. When she saw him yesterday, she spent hours just hanging at the diner, like she used to. A half hour lunch break turned into two hours. Michel was pissed, but she didn't care. Her Luke was back. Their fight was a thing of the past.

Lorelai took a breath, put the note back to it's place for safe keeping, then crawled into bed. She wrapped the blanket around her body, eased her head to the pillow, and no sooner was she drifting back to sleep.

_Diner_

It was a good morning for the most part, though the downside was that she couldn't get a hold of Rory before leaving for work. But getting a dream analysis wasn't such a big deal anymore. The dream was just a dream. It didn't really happen. No sense in dwelling on the past was her mantra this morning.

"Good morning," she sang while walking through the door.

"Sit," Luke ordered in passing.

Lorelai frowned and asked, "what if I don't wanna sit?"

"Then grab a pot and start pouring. Otherwise, find an empty chair and sit. You're in the way."

"Boy, do I feel loved," she said while going to a table for three that was filled with just two: an eldery couple sitting across from each other. "Hi, how ya doing? Mind if I sit? The guy in the flannel told me to."

Luke rolled his eyes. "An empty table," he said while pushing the chair in question back to its place.

"There are no empty tables."

"Then sit at the counter. And not like you did yesterday; sit in a stool. An _empty_ stool," he clarified while guiding her to the counter.

"Hey, the counter was my stage! I pulled off some insane card tricks yesterday and everyone loved me! The guys wouldn't stop clapping!"

"They wouldn't stop clapping because you were wearing a skirt. And apparently nothing underneath," Luke grumbled while swinging around the counter as she took a seat on the other side.

"Oh, that explains the money! I made like twenty bucks yesterday! And here I thought I amazed everyone with my card trickin skills," she sulked through a pout.

Luke shrugged while grabbing a mug for her. "Next time, try it with pants. Who knows, maybe it was the cards."

Lorelai frowned while leaning her chin on her open palm, her elbow resting on the table. "No, it was the skirt," she said through a sigh while holding her mug steady as Luke poured coffee into it. "Took me like thirty tries to guess Mrs. Cassini's card. There goes my career as a magician. Now I'll have to resort to plan B."

"What's plan B?"

"Trapeze artisit."

"Yeah, that's a winner," Luke mocked.

"You think of something then," she challenged before taking a sip of coffee.

"Oh, gee, I don't know, uh... Inn keeper?"

"Hmm," Lorelai wondered thoughtfully. "I'll have to think about that and get back to you."

"You're crazy."

"You love me," she retorted with a smile.

Luke's eyes widened in an instant while he backed away towards the kitchen. "You uh, you should order. Don't you have to be at the Inn soon?"

"Oh, um," Lorelai started, confused while looking up at the time. "Crap, yes. My usual, but to go please."

And with that, Luke hurried to the kitchen, leaving a curious Lorelai wondering what just happened.

Later on, while Lorelai was at work, Rory finally called her back.

"So, you think it means anything?" she asked while typing on the computer.

"I think your mind was just coming up with the worst possible senerio. But it was just a silly dream, mom."

"Yeah, figured."

"So how's your day going?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Breakfast Luke's, a few spats with Michel, a couple of freak outs from Sookie about vegetarians. Business as usual."

"Oh, good. So you and Luke are back on track? No weirdness or anything?"

"No, we're good. Things are back on track."

"I knew this thing with you guys would end eventually. You were too good of friends to just lose it all."

"Yeah. Luke's pouring my coffee again, I'm annoying the hell outta him, so all systems a go," Lorelai said absentmindedly while reading between her notes and the computer.

"Okay, group's getting ready to leave. I'll call you later, mom."

"Bye, kid."

But not a minute after hanging up, Lorelai realized she forgot to mention the "I love you," thing to Rory. She was so absorbed in her work that it slipped her mind.

"Lorelai! I need your signature!" Michel yelled from the lobby.

The Gilmore sighed while trudging from her office.

_XXX_

_Lorelai was lounging on the couch, flicking back and forth between channels, trying to find something, anything to watch. It was getting to the point where she would even settle for infomericals when a knock at the door interrupted her channel surfing. _

_With a sigh, she heaved herself up from the couch and opened the door to find Luke standing on the other side. _

"_Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"_

"_You called me to come over and fuck you," he reminded her, saying the words so simply and easily as if they were things he normally said to her. _

_Wondering if she just went insane there, Lorelai asked, "I'm sorry; what?"_

"_You called me to come fuck you," he repeated while taking his jacket off. "How 'bout we do it on the porch this time. The roof didn't work out too well," he said through a wince while letting his jacket fall to the floor and then reaching to undo his shirt. _

"_Hey, whoa, what the hell are you doing?" she asked while taking a step back. _

"_Can't fuck you with my clothes on," he said through a shrug. _

"_But-"_

"_Come on, catch up," he encouraged through a smile while loosing his flannel and pulling his undershirt over his heaed. _

"_No, I-"_

"_Don't you want me to suck on your nipples, Lorelai, like I did yesterday? You got great tits."_

_Her eyes widened as her arms flew up to cross over her chest. _

"_Come on, I only have ten minutes,"he said, his upper body bare as he reached for his belt. "I want to fuck you, Lorelai. Don't you want to fuck me?"_

Lorelai shot up in bed as her hand flew to silence her buzzing alarm clock. She took a few nervous breaths, taking a minute to fill her lungs while trying to get a hold of herself.

A moment later, she looked around the quiet room and said, "what the hell was that?"

_To Be Continued..._

**Please Review!!! Thank you!!! :D**


	4. Talk About Strange

_I know, I know, you all hate me. This one took way too long to get out, and I apologize for the long wait. Good news is this story's almost done. I know how it's going to end and I pretty much have the overall plan all done, so it shouldn't be long until the next update. _

_And as always thanks for the good reviews. I love 'em, :D. _

_Enjoy!_

**Summer Dreamin'**

**Chapter Four: Talk About Strange**

_Next morning_

Lorelai didn't mention her last dream to Rory. That was a dream she didn't feel comfortable sharing with her daughter. Still though, she needed a second opinion.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!"

"Sookie!" Lorelai hissed.

"You and Luke! You and Luke!"

Lorelai smacked her forehead to her palm. "Bad, bad idea," she scolded.

"How was it?! How was it?!"

"I told you, there was no sex; things were just... headed that way."

"Oh my God! Oh my God!"

"Okay, you have to stop repeating."

"I'm sorry; this is just so exciting!" Sookie squealed. "I knew! I always knew!"

"That was dangerously close to repeating," Lorelai warned.

"You and Luke! You're with Luke!"

Lorelai jumped to her feet. "Whoa, okay, Sookie, stop."

"What's wrong?" the confused chef asked worriedly.

"I am not with Luke."

"But your dream-"

"Was just a dream," Lorelai finished firmly."I just can't figure out the why; what triggered it."

"So, that was the first one? You're telling me you've never had a sex dream about Luke before last night?"

Lorelai raised her brows and challenged, "have you?"

"No, but I'm not in love with Luke. You are!"

"Sookie, I am not in love with Luke!"

"He was buck naked in your dream!"

"No, almost buck naked. He was _almost_ buck naked. There's a big difference."

"Oh really?" Sookie asked through a confident smile.

"Yes, and if you can't see that, then I'm not bothering to explain it," Lorelai huffed before stomping outta the kitchen.

Sookie couldn't help but laugh at her stubborn friend as she figured it was only a matter of time now.

_XOX_

Lorelai barely called 'bye' to Michel as she hurried passed the lobby and out the door. She walked around town without having the intention of landing anywhere specific, but just 10 minutes into her journey, she found herself nearing Luke's. When she stepped up on the corner in front of the diner, she looked around, confused as to how she got there; she knew she hadn't planned on it.

"Damn you and your freakishly good coffee," Lorelai cursed with narrowed eyes staring through the window.

Luke happened to catch sight of Lorelai from a table by the window where he was busy writing down an order. He lifted his hand to wave, but Lorelai didn't wave back because in that instant, in that second he looked at her, she had a flash from her dream. Luke standing in her foyer, stripping down naked, looking at her like he wanted her, complimenting her chest... the way he said it, it wasn't the most romantic thing in the world, but it was enough to leave an impression.

"Hey, Lorelai."

The trance broke and the Gilmore turned to find Kirk looking at her with a happy smile. "You going in?"

"Oh, uh, yeah I guess," she stammered.

Kirk smiled further before reaching to open the door. "Ladies first."

Lorelai gave her neighbor a 'thank you' smile before walking in and heading straight for a small, empty table by the far window. But no matter the space between her and the counter, she found bumping into Luke was inevitable, what with him owning the place and everything.

"Hey," Luke greeted while approaching her table.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine; why?"

"You didn't wave back," he explained while pointing oustide.

"Oh. Sorry."

Luke waited for some kind of reason, but nothing came, which was of course weird. Lorelai having a verbal shortage was far from normal. The woman was always babbling on about something or other.

"Okay," Luke murmured skeptically while eyeing her carefully. "What can I get you?"

"Nothing."

Luke nearly dropped his order pad at her answer. "Nothing?"

"I'm not hungry."

That made him think the apocalypse was coming. "Is something wrong?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You're claiming not to be hungry; something's wrong," he said without question.

Lorelai sighed."I just couldn't sleep last night, okay?"

"You usually eat more than normal when you've had a bad night," he argued.

Lorelai glared at him while thinking 'you're the reason I couldn't sleep, so back off!' but instead she said, "yeah well it's probably just that time of the month, right? Isn't that what men say about women when they're cranky and annoying or anything else that isnt perfect? God forbid we're not Stepford wives, vaccuming in heels all day," Lorelai grumped.

Luke looked at her dumbly. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked. "I thought we were good now."

"We are."

"Then how come you wont look at me?"

Lorelai turned away from the window, making it a point to meet his gaze.

Luke rolled his eyes. "If you're not hungry, why'd you come here?"

"What, you forget you sell coffee too?"

"So you want coffee?"

"No, but I could've come here for that," she argued petulantly.

Luke blew out a fustrated breath. "So you're not hungry and you don't want coffee?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you at a table for 3?"

"Look around, Duke, this was the only empty table."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Duke? Why'd you call me that?"

Lorelai shrugged and said," your nickname, isn't it?"

"You haven't called me that in years."

"Well, it's back."

"Why?"

"Becuase it's your name!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Because you're my friend and that's what I called my friend, okay!? We are just friends!" she shouted before standing up and darting from the room.

Everyone looked around, their mouths quiet and their eyes stunned.

"Poor sugah, she's losing her marbles!" Babette screeched.

Luke looked out the window to see Lorelai cross the street towards the Gazebo. Without thinking, he dropped the order pad on the table, then ran after her.

_TBC_

**Opinions? Thoughts? I'd love to hear 'em, :D. **


	5. A Trying Matter

_As always I appreciate all the wonderful reviews. Hope everyone likes this lastl one!! :D_

_Enjoy!_

**Summer Dreamin' **

**Chapter Five:A Trying Matter**

"Lorelai! Wait!" Luke yelled across the square.

"I have to go," she answered without turning around.

Luke stopped at the corner for the smallest split second, then after finding that his path was clear, he darted across the street. Lorelai was just passing the gazebo when he reached it. She must have thought he gave up because her pace slowed a bit, but Luke did just the opposite of waving a white flag. He ran around the other side of the gazebo, then popped out in front of her.

"Luke! God! Are you trying to give me a heart atttack!" the Gilmore shrieked while pressing her palm over her frenzied heart.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"What was what?"

"What you said back there; what were you talking about?"

"I'm late," Lorelai said while turning around, but Luke caught her arm to stop her.

"Something's going on with you," he said without question.

Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. "It's your fault," she accused without thinking.

"What? But I thought we were fine now; you said we were-"

"You're in my head!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Okay? You wanna know what's wrong? You're in my fricken head!"

Luke looked at her, even more confused.

"'What are you talking about, Lorelai?' Is that what you're thinking? What's the crazy woman babbeling about? That it? Well I am not crazy! You're in my head!"

Luke wished he could hit the pause button because he needed a second to catch up.

"Lorelai, what?-"

"You can't do that! You can't say those things to me! You can't just come out and do that! We are friends, Luke! _Friends!_ Friends don't do that!"

Now the poor, confused diner owner was starting to wish he'd left well enough alone.

"Do what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" she countered angrily. "I am not having sex with you! We are friends and friends don't have sex! Well, most friends don't have sex and we are part of that most!" she shouted before turning to go, but again, Luke stopped her.

"Is this a sugar high or something? Hallucination? Should I be checking you in somewhere?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "This isn't funny, Luke."

"What's not funny? You're rambling crap, and I have no idea what you're talking about."

"And I have no idea why you told me I have great tits, but you did! This is your fault! You're in my damn head, Luke! I go to sleep and wham! You're there! First you tell me I'm no good in bed and that you're divorcing me for some bimbo whose better in the sac, then you're bursting through my housee, getting naked in my foyer, telling me we can't have sex on the roof again because you almost fell or something last time! You're making me crazy! Stay outta my head and away from my dreams!" Lorelai yelled before fleeing from the scene and if Luke hadn't been frozen to the spot with wide eyes and his mouth practically hanging to the floor, he would've stopped her.

_XOX_

Five minutes, maybe even ten, went by before Luke managed to shake himself back to reality. He walked to the diner in a blind daze while trying to clear the fog from his mind.

When he entered the diner, the room was filled with people who had just heard about the thing in the square from those who were there to witness it themselves. Everyone kept their mouths shut as they knew better than to ask Luke any questions.

"Luke! Grilled cheese!" Caser called while sliding the plate through the pass.

Like a zombie, Luke grabbed the plate, then walked over to a table to put the food down. Granted, it was the wrong table, but no one said anything.

Five minutes later, when every table was filled with food, everyone stood up and switched things to the way they should be. Just as Luke was coming from the storage room, they manged to scramble back to their seats. Luke didn't even notice.

_The Inn_

"I did something really, really stupid," Lorelai panicked while walking through the kitchen.

"What'd you do?" Sookie asked.

"I told Luke," Lorelai said while plopping down on a stool.

"Told Luke what?"

"About the dream."

"Whoa," Sookie awed.

"See? Stupid."

"Well... yeah. I mean just because now you'll have to explain everything."

"Explain what?"

"You know..." Lorelai shook her head. "Your thing for Luke."

"I do not have a thing for Luke!"

The kitchen quieted and every head turned to Lorelai.

Sookie waved her spoon in the air, urging everyone to get back to work. She then looked down at Lorelai with a sympathetic frown on her face.

"Sweetie, the sooner you admit it to yourself, the better."

"There's nothing to admit, Sookie," Lorelai said firmly. "Just because we're both single, good looking, small town neighbors, doesn't mean we belong together or that I have a thing for him. Because I don't," she added quickly."And before you go there, Luke does not have a thing for me either."

Sookie spread a wide grin,"So you think Luke is good looking?"

Lorelai groaned while burying her face in her hands.

_Later_

_Diner_

The day had gone by with Luke in a haze. He barely uttered a word to anyone and made a pattern out of giving the wrong orders to customers.

The late morning confrontation in the square was the talk of the town. Everyone was busying sharing their thoughts on the matter while the two parties involved had no idea what was going on. Luke barely heard a word that was said all day and Lorelai kept busy in her office. They kept themselves shielded from the gossiping world. For a while, anyway. Eventually, Lorelai was needed in the lobby to deal with Michel and by the end of the day, Luke had a meat shipment to handle.

"Yeah, thanks," Luke said absentmindedly while signing for the boxes.

"See ya in two weeks, Luke."

The diner owner nodded to his old time friend. They shared a smile, shook goodbye, then went their seperate ways.

Meanwhile, at the Inn

It was just past eight. Lorelai pulled extra hours. She didn't have Rory to get home to, no animals to feed, no man to speak of, her fridge was filled with leftover takeout so a Doose's run wasn't needed and she couldn't go to Luke's. She zoomed way past her daily idiocy quota there and couldn't push herself to face the man. So she stayed at the Inn; she used the time to sign checks and catch up on some paperwork.

Around 7, she started to doze. A cup of coffee gave her a jolt to get through the hour but it came to a point where she found herself getting ahead in work; that was a rarity. And so at 8:03, Lorelai packed her things up and left for home.

_Diner_

Luke was going back and forth between the counter and the store room, putting away the new shipment that had just arrived. On one of his trips, his eyes strayed to the window. He caught a glimpse of a familiar sand colored jeep pulling to a stop light. It was red of course, much like it usually was.

Luke's stared lingered on the car. He read over the license plate without thinking, and the combination told him that the jeep was in fact Lorelai's. At the confirmation, he couldn't help but replay the day's earlier scene in his head.

It wasn't the crazy that surprised him; she was always crazy; it was the type of crazy that threw him. She was blaming him for being in her head, for being in her dreams... Luke sighed at the thought. She wanted him out of her dreams. That didn't exactly comfort him.

The light turned green faster than normal and the sound of Lorelai's jeep speeding around the corner caught Luke by surprise. His face jerked up at the noise and his frown deepended.

In just seconds, she was gone from sight. When that happened, Luke turned around to grab another box. Again, something stopped him, but his time the distraction wasn't oustide. He saw the phone; he thought of something; he made a move and all in under 5 seconds.

_Crapshack_

When Lorelai walked through the door, the phone was ringing. She hurried around the foyer to catch the caller, but it was too late. Her voice was playing through the machine just as Lorelai skidded to a stop in front of the table. She thought about picking up then, but thought again when the possibility of her mother being on the other end crossed her mind.

The beep sounded as Lorelai was unloading her purse to the table. She expected to hear Emily's gloating voice rattling on and on about her fabulous vacation, but it wasn't Mrs. Gilmore; it wasn't even a woman.

"_... Hey, uh... if you're there, don't pick up..."_

"Luke?" Lorelai questioned.

"_... I just, uh... well I thought I should... you're not the only... you're in my head too, okay?... you know, and my dreams... you, uh... just thought I should tell you."_

The line went dead; he hung up.

Lorelai stared at the machine in disbelief. She smacked the play button, needing to hear the message again. Apart of her thought she had gone mental for a minute and imagined the whole thing, but after listening to it again, she discovered that she hadn't hallucinated. And in that same instant, she grew angry.

Lorelai grabbed her keys and nothing else before stomping from her house and darting to the car.

_Diner_

Luke was putting the last chair up on the last table when he heard a not so patient knock at the door. He looked up to find Lorelai standing on the otherside of the glass. She looked pissed; he knew she heard his message.

"Let me in or so help me God, I will kick this door down," her muffled voice warned.

Luke sighed while walking around the table. He tried to prepare himself for the onslaught, but there just wasn't time.

"We're closed," Luke answered dully after opening the door.

"You're in my head, too?" she minicked. "What does that mean?" she demanded.

"You know what it means," his said, his voice gruff.

"So, what, they're all right? You have a thing for me?" she asked half jokingly.

Luke didn't answer, but he ducked his head to the floor.

"No you can't," Lorelai refused while shaking her head furiously. "We're friends, Luke," she whispered urgently.

"This isn't just me; it's you too," he pointed out in defense.

Lorelai blew out a fustrated breath while crossing her arms over her chest. "How long?" she asked quietly.

"Lorelai-"

"How long, Luke?"

"A while."

Lorelai looked up to meet his eyes. "At first, the dreams were bad and I knew why I was having them. When everything went wrong between us and we... well you were there; it was bad," she explained. "But then, last night was different. I woke up before the main event, but I'd bet all the coffee I have that if I didn't wake up, we would've had sex," she stated simply. "Sookie thinks I have a thing for you," she murmured.

Luke took a deep breath, using the fresh air to gain his nerve before saying,"I've had so many dreams about you that I've lost count."

"Luke, don't," Lorelai begged. "Things are finally right; I don't wanna lose you again."

"You won't," he argued.

"You don't know that."

Luke took a step forward; she took a step back.

Luke sighed at her guarded stance. "Is Sooke right?"

Lorelai didn't answer right away, but after a moment, she said, "I don't know... maybe."

"I won't hurt you, Lorelai," he promised shyly.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I can't lose us again, Luke... you mean more to me than just pie and coffee."

"You mean everything," he confessed.

Lorelai wanted to smile, but she couldn't.

"We can't do this."

"You said maybe, Lorelai; you didn't say no," he reminded her.

"It doesn't matter; even if I do, I won't risk this," she said while gesturing between them.

"What are you so afraid of?" he challenged.

"I told you, of losing you... I just... I need to forget about my dream and you need to forget about yours... I have to go," she said before turning to leave, but Luke reached for her wrist to stop her.

Lorelai sighed."Why won't you let me go? Why do you keep stopping me? Don't you understand what could happen? Everything could fall apart."

"Or not," he countered before pulling her closer to press a proving kiss to her lips, to show her.

It all happened so fast. Lorelai couldn't stop it if she tried. Right before his lips met hers, she was prepared to pull away, then slap him across the face, but then something happened. She fell for his kiss. The rush took her by surprise. She melted into his arms; she gave in. In a matter of seconds, all rational thoughts were out the window and she became an eager participant in the kiss.

Luke released her a moment later. He wore a confident smile as he waited patiently for her eyes to open.

"Not fair," Lorelai murmured. "I still think it's a-"

Luke interupted the words with a silencing kiss, the second one more demanding than the first. Lorelai wrapped her arms aroumd his neck while Luke banded his own around her back. Their bodies touched as the kiss intensified. Tongues came out to play; hands roamed; things were heating up when Lorelai gained her senses and pulled away panting.

"You're good at that," she complimented between breaths. "Too good."

Luke's smile turned to a cocky one.

"You're playing with fire, Luke."

The man shrugged. "Worth it, to have you."

"Oh, boy," Lorlai murmured while taking a few steps back.

"Is Sookie right?" Luke asked again.

"We can't," she refused.

"Was she right, Lorelai?" Luke pressed.

The Gilmore nodded, thought part of her didn't want to.

Luke walked closer to her. When she didn't back away, he put his hands on her hips and found her worried gaze.

"Just try, Lorelai. That's all I'm asking you to do."

A moment of silence passed before Lorelai asked,"will you be here if I fail?"

"Will _you_ if _I _fail?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded.

"I'll be here," Luke returned.

"Even if I panic and curse you out in the middle of the street?"

Luke smiled. "Even if you tell me to go to hell, I'll be here."

Lorelai rolled her eyes."I don't know what you see in me, but okay, I'll try."

"I don't know either."

That time, she slapped him.

THE END

**Hope you enjoyed! I'd love some parting words before you go! Thank you for reading! :D**

**And when you're through, if you'd like to vist my profile page for the link to a Gilmore girls FF website I've made, please feel free to do so, :D. **


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